There are Better People
by Nek00
Summary: Rose Tyler is surviving in the alternate universe, but then something very strange and very dangerous arrives, something with her name on it...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rose

The sky was grey, typically English weather. It made everyone feel gloomy, as any bad weather did, but in one way, it was a perfect match for Rose Tyler's mood. Ever since she had become separated from the Doctor, trapped in an alternate universe, she had been in this mood. It wasn't quite depression; maybe it was longing for somebody she didn't realise she loved until after he was gone? She knew she would never see him again, and that tore her up inside. At least she had Mickey, Jackie and Pete, but most of the time they were only cold comfort.

The only person she had made a real connection with was Rex Matheson. He was her boss at Torchwood, and she knew that they were not supposed to be friends. If someone was your boss, they were supposed to give your orders and then scream at you when you screwed up. But Rex was different. He had comforted Rose; he had helped her grieve. He had been there for her, more than what her family had been.

He was always the first person to greet her as she showed up at Torchwood's Canary Warf headquarters each morning. Located inside 20 St Mary Axe, the team had access to highly advanced but classified technologies. They occupied only the top three floors of the building; the rest was owned by private companies ranging from banks to infomercial production companies.

'I can't believe this; the weather has been like this for weeks!' Rex said as Rose came into his office. Rex had an American accent that Rose liked. He had been born in Langley, Virginia, but had immigrated to the UK with his family about ten years ago. He didn't say hi to Rose this morning, instead handing her a folder.

'What's this?' Rose asked as she opened it, revealing what appeared to be an abandoned tube station that somebody had set on fire. Below the track bed was a gaping hole.

'Last night there was an explosion at Holborn tube station. The Piccadilly line platforms were completely destroyed and part of the roof collapsed. That's the hole you can see in the first photo.'

'Were there any injuries?' asked Rose, still flicking through crime scene photos? She caught a glimpse of a charred corpse in one of them. She felt sorry for whoevere that had been.

'A homeless man living in the station was killed; we havn't identified him yet. But that's not why we're involved. The police determined that the explosion came from _under_ the station. Something had blasted it's way up from underneath. That something, Rose Tyler, has your name on it.'

Rose suddenly lost awareness of her surroundings. The only thing she could see or hear as Rex. Fear flowed through her, fear of the unknown. But she also felt hope, hope that this might be a message from the Doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Rose

Holborn tube station had been closed in the 1950's as part of a cost saving measure when the London Transport Company almost went bankrupt. For some reason, no one had bothered to reopen the station. Now there was no certainly no chance of that happening, at least not anytime soon. Hell, the two lines that passed through the station might not be reopened for months or years. A huge gaping hole was all that remained of the Piccadilly line platforms. The lower level was mostly intact, except that the tracks had been torn up by a great force, and a piece of rail was embedded in the wall.

Under a white sheet nearby was the dead homeless man. Rose went over t have a quick look at the corpse: it's arm was missing and he was unrecongnisable.

And in the middle of a large hole in the floor, where the trackbed used to be, was a small silver oblong object. Imprinted into the top was one name: Rose Tyler.

Her name wasn't written on it, it was press into the metal, or whatever it was made of. Rose went to touch it...

...and it _reacted to her_.

It was as though Rose's presence had awakened the device. It glowed very briefly, and appeared to be humming. Then just as soon as the humming began, it suddenly stopped.

One of the Torchwood agents in the station threw out an off-handed comment about Rose having "magic powers".

'Shut up'. said Rose.

Rose bent down to pick it up, and was about to open it.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you, ma'am.' said the agent. 'We don't know what it is or what it can do.'

'Well then, we won't find out what's in it.' Rose wanted to open it because she was desperate to see what was inside. And as soon as the agent's back was turned, she did just that. A piercing noise filled the station, and the agent's ears began bleeding.

The sound penetrated the roof of the station, windows exploded and car alarms went off. People covered the ears and ran for their lives, having no idea what was making the noise or if it was going to kill them.

In the station, Rose heard a strange squelching sound, more like a pop, before a warm sticky liquid splashed across her back. She closed the device and stood up very slowly. She had a nasty feeling about what that liquid substance might be. She slowly turned around, and saw a horrific sight at her feet. The agent who had tried to stop her was dead. His head had _exploded._

Rose screamed.

She dropped the device and ran for her life. On her way out, she tripped over another corpse, her nose cracking on impact with the ground. She didn't take the time to see that his head was still intact.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Rex

Rex had decided not to go with Rose to the station; he had already driven for over six hours in London traffic today, and he didn't want to do anymore driving unless absolutely necessary. In fact, he had something better to do, and had left shortly after Rose did. He walked to a nearby restaurant called Castaway Jack's, which was bedlam at this time of day, for an excellent lunch. He always ate here when he got the chance; the food was excellent, especially the grilled sole with lemon and herbs. He finished that off with a layer cake and a glass of red wine. Then he sat at his table by the window, reading a paper.

The press was speculating about a recent incident Torchwood had attended in Dover, involving a psycho alien with a highly advanced weapon he (or she; its sex was unknown) was using to shoot at trains with. The government had done a great job of covering up the mess, but conspiracy theories were raging like wildfire.

His piece did not last long; it was disrupted by a crack suddenly appearing in the window next to him. Rex looked at it closely, but could see any sign of something hitting the glass. Then, somewhere in the restaurant, wine glass began to explode. The dinners panicked and fled from the building, tipping over tables and chairs as they went. Some, although shaken, remained seated.

A blond waitress was frozen to the spot over by the bar. She was struggling to speak. Rex's hone broke the silence, it was Rose calling. It sounded as though she was crying.

'You have to come, Rex. Something really bad's happened.'

'Rose, what happened?'

'I can't...I can't explain...please...you have to come...'

Then her phone cut out.

'Shit!' Rex said under his breath as he rushed out of the restaurant and made a b-line for his car, parked underneath Torchwood HQ.

* * *

><p>As he ran to his car, Rex was unaware that somebody who had access to Torchwood was photographing him. That person had high security clearance; they were a mole. At the time, no one knew how close that person was to Rex and his team.<p>

As soon as Rex had driven off, the mole pulled out a smart phone, an Apple iPhone 8, and dialled an unlisted number.

'Do you have any information for us?' said Siri, the codename the mole's contact used.

'They've found it.' said the mole. 'I am sending you details of its location now.'

Siri's face lit up as a map of Holborn appeared on her computer screen.


End file.
